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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26004046">like tides in the sea</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ghostoshima/pseuds/Ghostoshima'>Ghostoshima</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>i'll find a way to make you happy [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Canon Divergence, Canon Divergence - Final Fantasy VII, F/M, Fluff, Friendship/Love, Gift Fic, M/M, One Shot, Short One Shot, Trans Male Character, Wall Market (Compilation of FFVII), hand holding</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 04:00:14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,079</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26004046</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ghostoshima/pseuds/Ghostoshima</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>it is the perfect night out to save a friend, bond, &amp; fall in love<br/><br/>AKA<br/><br/>tifa needs their help but they must ~dress up~ a little bit first.<br/></p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Aerith Gainsborough/Original Male Character(s), Cloud Strife &amp; Original Male Character(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>i'll find a way to make you happy [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1781323</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>like tides in the sea</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/comaliesvii/gifts">comaxviii (comaliesvii)</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p><i>"maybe your next one can be about... wandering around the Wall Market : ) dolled up or not?"</i><br/><br/>another fanfic featuring my friend, <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/jagkass/pseuds/comalies">comalies'</a> oc, vivian! this time set in midgar, just before the plate of sector 7 falls, on their way to rescue to tifa. i hope you enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Vivian, are you ready?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Aerith’s attention is toward the dresses on the rack, her hands exploring each fabric, as Vivian walks out of the dressing room, shuffling.“You were sure taking your sweet time,” she says, her hands upon her hips. The dress he wore was chosen by Aerith herself, it is a silky number with long sleeves and a turtleneck, the silk translucent and orange, the rest of the dress are black overalls that are long, reaching his ankles, where he wore black boots. Vivian keeps his head down. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Now, we must do something about this hair!” Aerith cheerfully chimes in, he can feel her fingers running through the locks, he doesn’t move away from her touch. He hides his face behind his sleeve, all he could see is the heels Aerith wore with her dress—a long, red dress with frills at the end. It left both him and Cloud speechless. The way she wore </span>
  <em>
    <span>her </span>
  </em>
  <span>hair is cute too, her ponytail in curls with flowers and ribbons tied to them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He wondered what Aerith would suggest for </span>
  <em>
    <span>his </span>
  </em>
  <span>hairdo. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>From behind her, Cloud hangs back, near the entrance of the shop, seeming like he wanted to be anywhere but here; Vivian couldn’t blame him. But Aerith said it herself—Vivian needed clothes if they were going to enter the mansion together. He</span>
  <span> wants to speak up but he couldn’t stop hiding, the blush on his face burning up with each second. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You have Madam M’s endorsement, Vi, so you’re a shoo-in!” Aerith says, but it seems Madam M didn’t want to personally dress him herself. He trusts Aerith better anyway. Even so, the thought of being in Corneo’s place makes his stomach turn in knots—how disgusting it is to have to be in that place, but for Tifa, he’d do anything. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He would do anything for any of them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“W—what about Cloud?” Vivian squeaks gently, a croak in his throat, he finally looks up but he still avoids Cloud’s eyes; what could he possibly be thinking looking at Vivian all dolled up like this? It leaves his hands feeling a bit clammy. He’s afraid of what he’d find in those eyes. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What </span>
  <em>
    <span>about </span>
  </em>
  <span>Cloud?” He can hear him say, from his peripheral vision, he can make out Cloud crossing his arms. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, you’ll see… for now, why don’t we hit the market! Y’know, until it’s time for the show.” Aerith says.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Show?</span>
  </em>
  <span><em>”</em> Vivian and Cloud say in unison. Aerith responds with a giggle, she grasps Vivian’s hand, pulling him outside. Cloud follows behind at a leisurely pace, though as Vivian looks back, he can see his blonde brows furrowed; Vivian gulps. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The Wall Market is a place that never sleeps, with crowds bustling each night such as this one. There was the Underground Colosseum </span>
  <em>
    <span>and</span>
  </em>
  <span> there was Corneo choosing a bride that night, so it was quite busy. Vivian could only wonder how all the other nights were. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His feet moved automatically as he was dragged around by Aerith, a couple of people stopped at their tracks to howl &amp; whistle at her, Aerith paid them no attention, but Vivian could feel his face burning with each perverted comment directed at them. H</span>
  <span>e catches a glimpse of Cloud glaring at the bystanders. Somehow, that brings upon a warmth in his chest and a smile on his face. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Having a good time?” Aerith says as they stop near a stall that sold lemonade, for five gil, and Aerith ordered three. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m…” Anxious. There were multiple knots in his stomach, tightening with every passing minute. He didn’t feel this way during the colosseum fights, not even during the lead-up to it. He had fun. Dressing up for a lecherous, shady man wasn’t as much, even if Aerith looks </span>
  <em>
    <span>beautiful. </span>
  </em>
  <span>( And he didn’t, not in his head. ) “I don’t know.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He takes the lemonade, the plastic cup cool against his fingers, a straw sticks out where he takes a careful sip from. Cloud reluctantly sips his own drink.  </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“It’s okay, Vi, this is all…” She gestures to their surroundings. “This is all so much! Even for me.” A person walking by accidentally knocks against Vivian, his drink spills on the ground, in a splash, the ice spilling out. He immediately checks his dress to make sure no lemonade had spilled against him, the fabric of the dress is so dark, it’s hard to tell. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Oh no… </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He couldn’t risk ruining the dress Aerith got for him, especially as nice as the one he wears now.“Here, you can have mine.” Aerith hands him her cup, Vivian looks back at her with a soft gaze, almost innocent-like, like a kitten. He shakes his head, putting up a hand, palm facing her. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I couldn’t,” he says. “That’s yours.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll be fine,” Aerith responds. “You should get replenished, drink lots of fluids! We both have a big night ahead of us.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“A big night? You talk like you’re going back to the colosseum again</span>
  <span>—you’re going into Corneo’s place </span>
  <em>
    <span>alone</span>
  </em>
  <span>, I just don’t trust him with the two—three of you in there.” Cloud says, he is right alongside Vivian, he shook his boots of any lemonade that splashed on them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“That’s why we </span>
  <em>
    <span>aren’t </span>
  </em>
  <span>going alone,” Aerith giggles. “Don’t worry, I came up with a plan with Madam M and Andrea Rhodea.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Y—you got an appointment with Andrea?” Vivian says, dumbfounded. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I got more than that—he wants to see Cloud personally.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“... </span>
  <em>
    <span>Why?</span>
  </em>
  <span><em>”</em> Cloud’s emphasis is heavy, his brows furrowed again as he eyes Aerith as he did at the clothing store. “You’ve been vague for a while now. What’s going on?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll explain once we get there! C’mon.” She steps on ahead, making a beeline toward the Honeybee Inn, Cloud and Vivian stand there, both in awe and confusion, but with no other choice, they follow her. </span>
  <span></span><br/>
<br/>
</p>
<p>
  <span>---</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Cloud is in the other room, Aerith says he was practicing, but to what? Vivian didn’t know. Aerith told him it was a surprise. A woman in a bee outfit uses a brush to blend the eyeshadow on his eyelids, he has to keep still, it’s kind of hard as the hairs of the brush tickled him, the makeup almost makes him want to sneeze… Vivian couldn’t stop giggling. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re looking </span>
  <em>
    <span>so cute!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Aerith claps her hands in glee, a large smile on her face. “You’re gonna like how this turns out.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I—I hope so…” Another bee worked on his hands, painting his nails black to match his dress. Another worked on his hair, pulling it back into a bun, slipping a hairpin with an orange butterfly in, the fumes of the hairspray she used wanted to make him cough. Beauty is uncomfortable. “I’m not used to it… I never got this treatment back when I was in…” Vivian pauses there. The tension lays heavy in his stomach but the bees didn’t break stride as they worked on him, none of them seem to even ask—or notice. Aerith, on the other hand, is silent, she is seated to the side, her head is turned. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She knows what he means. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Vivian… how long have you been in there?” She didn’t name the location, Vivian knows anyway, both of them still had to remain secretive with all the open ears that surrounded them. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“In </span>
  <em>
    <span>there?</span>
  </em>
  <span> For… as long as I can remember,” he mutters, staring at his manicure. “I don’t think I can remember a life outside of that.” Outside of being a lab rat for </span>
  <em>
    <span>Shinra. </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Have you ever… met a woman named Ifalna?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His memory isn’t the best, worse with all the experiments done on him, they dissected him and his brain and re-worked everything to make something… inhuman, even the bees that worked on him were a little unnerved by the blackened right eye he received as a result of all these experiments. They are a part of him now, there is no fixing them. To put it simply, he is fucked up. His memory? No better. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“N—no… but I…” Vivian’s fingers twitch and he had to do his best to keep it together, not to budge any further as not to disrupt the manicure. His mouth felt dry. He racked his brain for anything—anything at all, but nothing came. “Why do you ask…?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Mm, nothing. It’s not important.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But he could tell by the tone of her voice that she is disheartened, his chest threatens to cave in, he feels the guilt rising. He tries not to cry, not to ruin the mascara on his face. He was nothing more than a plaything for Shinra, doing unholy things to him and throwing him into the arenas to fight against whoever they wished to sic on him. ( Fighting in the colosseum was like that, but at least he is </span>
  <em>
    <span>free.</span>
  </em>
  <span> )</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Aerith,” he says. “I’ll find this woman for you, I will. I’ll do anything, I’ll figure everything out. I promise.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Then, Aerith laughs, lightheartedly, enough for the sinking feeling in his chest to stop momentarily so he could breathe again. He almost smiles. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No, Vivian, you can’t do that, it’s…” She shakes her head. “It’s hard to explain but... I want to tell you everything, tell you as much as I can and so much more, but we need time. Maybe after all of this is over, I can get that chance to.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And gods, does that worry him.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But all they had to do was survive that night—and Corneo. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>---</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Cloud is unamused, to say the least. He hid close to an alleyway, his back turned to the both of them, refusing to speak. Vivian in speechless. Cloud has never looked so soft, beautiful, and enchanting as he does now, with a long white dress in a lilac hue and hair extensions that flow past his chin, all complimented with the tiara he wore. Cloud feels like an idiot but Vivian sees him and he can’t help but take in every inch of him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Don’t say anything.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Can I just—?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No!”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>On their way to see Corneo, the same group of men leered at Cloud this time, and like Aerith, he tried his best to pay no mind to them, but Vivian could tell Cloud wanted nothing more but to throttle them. Vivian could somehow relate to this feeling. As these men catcalled him, called him </span>
  <em>
    <span>baby, </span>
  </em>
  <span>and whistled at him, there was a fire in his chest, he had to work his hardest to bite back his tongue from shouting. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Vivian didn’t like any of this, he wanted to reach out and hold Cloud’s hand—protect him, somehow. But Cloud keeps his hands on his front, powerwalking straight up ahead, even with the pumps he wore. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Vivian is impressed. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“C—Cloud, wait!” Cloud continued walking straight up ahead but he did slow down a bit. “I know you want to get this over with, I do too but…” Cloud turns, his face scrunched up but softens as he sees Vivian. He must’ve looked worried in order for Cloud to drop his guard. “You should slow down…”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m sorry...” Cloud says, after a brief pause.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Vivian’s right, we should take our time."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Together, all three proceed to the front of the mansion, this time they had no trouble keeping up with Cloud, and Vivian could finally take his hand into his grasp, Cloud turns to him, shocked, but does not move his hand away. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’m so glad you’re here with us, Cloud.” Vivian meant every word of it, he could feel Cloud’s stiffen muscles relax, he witnesses as he exhales slowly, closing his eyes. And to Vivian’s surprise, he could feel someone tug on his other hand, and he turns to face Aerith, who smiles at him. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Vivian, are you ready?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Those words are echoed a second time that night and though the knots in his stomach are back, he feels assured with the two of them by his side. He squeezes each of their hands. Looking up at the mansion, Vivian could see it is huge up close, probably easy to get lost in, and for someone as small as him, he might lose himself very easily, like in the tides of the sea. But he reminds himself, he has two people who care deeply for him—and their way to rescue their third one—and they lock him down like an anchor. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And with that, Don Coreno seemed a little less scary. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>hey! you've made it to the end.<br/>the dress vivian is described wearing is this <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/pin/565835140686510451/">one.</a> i know i probably didn't do a good job describing it but i hope i did!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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